I'm not too worried about the offense. The line should be good, and the backs and receivers are great. As many have said, it all depends on Harris. My feeling is that he's ready.

When I think about a traditional 3-4 defense, which LSU is moving to, I think monster nose guard and two big middle linebackers, which I haven't seen. Some have said (or speculated) that Aranda's defense is different.

That said, LSU has only one experienced big linebacker and one very talented big freshman who will still take time. I think they can get around this by moving some guys around, maybe finding a surprise or two among guys who haven't played, and maybe springing another surprise here or there.

Nose guard concerns me more than linebacker because they just don't have anyone who's shown both the size and talent to play there. Again, Aranda's defense is said to be different, to the extent that they experimented with Godchaux at NT in the spring. The idea is to use his speed; if he can stand up to, or get around, the pounding, he may be fine. Gilmore has the size but hasn't shown any wow factor. But I hear there's a unicorn sniffing around that might fill the bill. If Valentine gets eligible and is just average SEC caliber, he might go a long way towards fixing the problem.